


Pity The Children

by Xizi64



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, BB-8 - Freeform, Ben's second language is wookie, Eventual Smut, Force Use, Force-Sensitive Hux, Hux Family, Hux-centric, Kylo Ren and Rey Are Related, Multi, POV Hux, Politics, Possessive Behavior, Reset the Galaxy, Senator Ben, Senator Hux, Slow Build, The republic didn't work, WIP, What Was I Thinking?, lets try something completely different, only a sith deals in absolutes, sort of, the empire didn't work, they're both still assholes, world building
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 15:46:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6664654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xizi64/pseuds/Xizi64
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marcus Hux grew up as an outcast on the edges of society, the galaxy had no place for the aristocrats of the old Empire. A visit from Luke Skywalker sparks an obsession that will last a lifetime.</p>
<p>Ben Solo grows up on the edge of his parents' lives, they're trying to run a galaxy, he's just trying to finish his homework and not punch that one reporter. Getting drawn into the world of politics is not how he wanted his life to go.</p>
<p>With the fate of the galaxy balancing on a knife edge Luke Skywalker decides to use the knowledge his sister possesses and the power they have gained over the last years to make a difference. The Jedi are gone but Force Sensitive children are still being born and they need a place to grow up. The Empire is gone but the people of it remain. </p>
<p>(Rating is for later chapters, more tags to come)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pity The Children

The first time Marcus Hux truly encounters a powerful Force user he is 12 years old and Luke Skywalker is standing outside his house. Marcus feels him long before he is shown into the room where Marcus is watching over the youngest of his mother’s brood with a distracted eye. Skywalker is a supernova behind Marcus’s eyelids, demanding attention but punishing those that give it, the light pulsing and swirling until it fills the room and Marcus feels as if he could drown in it. He’s been able to sense the life force in others for years now but this is unlike anything he has encountered before.

The smooth swish of the door sliding open breaks him of his trance and calls attention to the figures now standing there. Reluctantly Marcus scans his eyes over the unfamiliar figure behind his mother’s right shoulder. To his physical eyes the man is pale skinned and brown haired with a face that you would pass over in a crowd. He is also completely unfamiliar to Marcus, a rarity in their small community. His clothes are shades of brown and cream, with a leather jacket that doesn’t fit his slight frame hanging off his shoulders. The Force, on the other hand, hangs over him like a moving mantle touching everything in sight and retreating back towards Skywalker. Marcus can only conclude that he is using the Force as an extra sense, to map out the world around him in a manner that all his other senses combined cannot. 

It’s raining (when is it not raining?) and Marcus can’t see beyond the doorway the idea of that much power belonging on this tiny moon of a planet is laughable and the obscurity adds to the surreal nature of the situation. A scream draws his attention back to the children he’s supposed to be watching over. The twins have grabbed hold of either side of one of the toys and are pulling it violently across the space between them. Marcus watches for a moment and then turns back towards the door. 

His mother is standing at the open door looking outwards. Skywalker is gone. Marcus closes his eyes and opens his mind but he can’t find anything. No hint of the supernova he encountered mere minutes ago. He decides then that he want it. Wants to feel a supernova of light and colour and life swirling around him. He will have it any way he can. That year he devours as much literature about the Jedi and their mystical Force as he can lay his hands on.

 

 

When Marcus is 15 they move again. He’s used to it by this point, packing up everything they own, getting on a shuttle to a new base, different stars, different base, same types of people. Marcus is good at reading people. They stay on the starbase for 3 days this time and Marcus has already figured out the best places to get food and cheap supplies. Not that his mother will let him help. ‘Watch the little ones.’ She smiles down at him with dead eyes and he complies, sneaking out after they have been laid down to get food of his own. His family is large and he is entirely self-sufficient. Disconnected. 

When they are finally on the move again he is relieved, the extended stay on the base had been unusual and had put him on edge. Out of the portholes stars speed by and Marcus wonders where they will end up this time. Another ball of rock with ceaseless rain? Or the sweltering deserts he barely remembers from the first world they fled to? Perhaps they might end up somewhere with a tolerable temperature? Marcus snorts. He doubts it. Most of the time he wonders how the myriad of beings that make up every community survive in such disparate conditions. Terraforming hasn’t been common practice since his grandfather was a child. What a shame. Marcus knows exactly what sort of home he would create for himself. Movement to the right catches his eye and he observes one of the younger set of twins attempting to undo their restraints. That won’t do. Having the monsters run about underfoot is bad enough in a house let alone the confined space the quarters they have been given for this journey. 

They arrive at their destination ahead of schedule, the people disembark and mill around, getting underfoot, and complaining. It’s teeming with life, more life than he had ever thought possible. Marcus sneers at the disorder and scans the crowd ahead to catch a glimpse of the fire-red hair that is his mother’s. She is talking to a much shorter individual, who is gesticulating wildly. Weaving through the crowd is more difficult than it looks, but his recent growth spurt makes it easier than it would have been in the past. Dodging a large scaly looking individual that appears to be more cloth luggage than actual sentient being, delays Marcus enough that conversation has ceased when he stands at last at his mother’s side. 

Marcus’s mother is a monolith in his eyes, she stands alone against the future, her tall willowy frame steers the course of their family from one port to another. From one husband to another. From wealth to poverty to the middle ground that they are learning to navigate in this strange new galaxy that has risen from the ashes of centuries of civil war and conflict. Ailene Hux. Aristocrat of a dead empire. Looking at her now he realises for the first time that they are almost of a height. The thought is startling and discomfiting. He dismisses it. Now is not the time for introspection.

“My son,” his mother’s voice is warm, the tone soothing and entirely fake “this is the liaison arranged for us by my new workplace. You will follow him to our new apartment with the rest of the children. I will meet you later for the evening meal.” She turns and leaves him with the stranger. The crowd has died down and Marcus beckons over the 4 smaller children. It’s time to get acquainted with his mother’s latest venture.

The short individual is cloaked, and silent. Marcus turns to them and gestures towards the port exit. The hood nods and leads the small group out onto the planet proper. 

Marcus was wrong in his assumptions about their new planet. It isn’t a wet wasteland nor a dry one, at least not here. As far as Marcus can see gleaming towers of paristeel and unfamiliar metal rise alongside things that might be called trees if the were 1000 times smaller. It makes for an odd and unfamiliar atmosphere. There are people. So many people. Marcus is definitely not the tallest here and his pale skin and red hair which normally attract so many stares is practically bland compared to some of the colours on show. Marcus is careful to hide his distaste. It is composed of far more unease than he cares to admit.

The small flitter barely fits all of the Huxs plus their guide and Marcus is grateful that his only luggage is the bag slung between his feet. He picks up his smallest sibling and places her on his lap, a trickle of warmth flickers through his marrow as she buries her face in his chest and falls asleep. The hum of the engines vibrates the seat beneath him and Marcus takes a deep breath, steadying himself and letting the sheer amount of lifeforce flow through him for the first time since they disembarked.

 

 

When he opens his eyes again they have pulled to a stop outside a needle of transparisteel and glass, indistinguishable from those around the space port to Marcus’ eyes and yet they’ve clearly travelled far enough for their to be much less foot traffic. Meditating whilst moving does not come highly recommended and yet the comforting swirl of life force that is his focus is always moving by its very nature, for Marcus dynamic meditation has always been more efficient.

The mute guide (they were talking to his mother, is Marcus not worthy enough?) gestures again and disembarks. Marcus groans as he stretches his limbs, hoisting up the little one and his bag. The rest can be brought up by someone else. His bag is his and his alone. The lobby is an unfamiliar style straight lines, clean colours, and almost dead in both atmosphere and occupants. The main desk is a wide black countertop manned by one human and two individuals of a race Marcus is unfamiliar with. He will learn. The guide nods abruptly and is out of the door before he has a chance to react. The strange actions of their guide spark curiosity in Marcus for the first time since he was told they were leaving. What is his mother doing in a place like this?

Sighing Marcus approaches the front desk. “My name is Marcus Hux. My mother, Ailene Hux, sent me on ahead.”

“Good afternoon, sir. You must be our newest residents. I will need some form of identification before we can proceed.” The other human’s smile is professional and business-like. The attitude relaxes Marcus, this he can deal with.

“Yes. Here are my credentials and I am willing to submit to an iris scan.” Handing over the data chip makes him nervous but he pushes it down and stares into the small purple orb floating just over the surface of the desk. 

“Thank you, sir. I am Tarath and my colleagues and I are happy to assist with answering any questions you have during your time living here. Your apartment is on the 37th floor number 2. Your luggage will be brought up shortly Have a pleasant day.” 

The apartment itself is reminiscent of the lobby, straight lines,white surfaces and completely impersonal. Dumping the children in the large reception room Marcus wanders around the apartment. It’s large with more than enough space for a family of six. Not that he intends to spend any significant amount of time here. Out of the 4 bedrooms only the smallest has a private refresher and it is this which draws him to it. Deciding that this is his room, Marcus places his bag on the narrow bed and looks out the window. This room faces away from the street and towards another building, one of the tree like structures. From this high up it’s easy to make out the details of windows and balconies that flow along the tree trunk in no clear order, there are no clear floors and the openings themselves are completely different in size and shape. It will make for an interesting view.

When Marcus emerges from his room (just his now, no one will enter it, his alone). No timepiece is clearly visible within the apartment but the sun has dipped towards the horizon. None of the children require feeding and have all managed to successfully locate the main refresher. The bags are stacked by the door and can be sorted out later, Marcus just wants to sleep. The little ones are put to bed quickly, the twins in the second largest room on the other side of the reception room and the two youngest in the room next to his own. Crashing down onto his own bed, Marcus barely manages to pull off his boots before slipping off to sleep.

 

 

Drifting back towards consciousness is a chore, floating out of the warm blackness of unconsciousness is difficult and often not something he actually wishes to do. The click of heels on the smooth floor causes him to stir and turn towards the door, it appears his mother has returned. She slides open the door but does not step over the threshold. “Go back to sleep, darling. The rest of the galaxy can wait until the morning”. Then she is gone again, the door closing whisper quiet behind her.

Marcus blinks blearily for a moment and rolls back towards the window, his mother isn’t one of goodnight pleasantries and on top of everything that has happened today it is too much for his brain to deal with. Marcus sinks into the life force flowing around the building which looks dead from the outside. He can’t manipulate it or reach out with it but he can accept it’s existence and let it flow through him. There is something swirling on the edge of what he can sense, it’s not a supernova, not yet, but Marcus thinks it could be one day. With unfocused eyes staring out of the window it takes him a moment to reconcile what he is feeling with what he can see. On a balcony, to the left and a little higher up is a younger boy, not yet in his teens. Marcus’ breath catches in his throat, a Jedi, or at least some form of Force manipulator, and Marcus is living right next to him.

As his eyes drift closed Marcus swears the boy looks straight at him.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from I haven't written fic in years. And yet here I am. How did I fall in love with these two assholes? At least partially inspired by the Senator Kylo artwork that is floating around tumblr right now, if you haven't seen it you should definitely go and check it out.


End file.
